Murder Broods (Revised)
by JeichanHaka
Summary: Revised version of the original Murder Broods: It all starts when someone hacks into the Black Org./Syndicate's mainframe using the Night Baron Virus, leaving behind a message indicating revenge.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Due to wanting to include more recent developments in the manga I have decided to rewrite the original Murder Broods.**

Murder Broods: Revised

Chapter 1

Crows circled the sky above the alley, their coal wings blending with the night sky above; below the deep tapestry of sparse stars a street-lamp flickered at the edge of the alley. Smoke swirled from the lit end of a cigarette, the grayish tendrils twisting as they rose and dispersed in the chilly night air. Two sharp teal eyes followed the billows of smoke silently, averting from their subject only when the sound of footsteps drew them towards an approaching figure.

Gin glared at the alley's palpable shadows and breathed in slow and deliberate, the cigarette held between his lips.

"Aniki…." Vodka began, observing his partner from behind his sunglasses; his black suit snuggly covering his rotund form. He watched as Gin lowered his head slightly and his silver hair fell over his eyes. "This hacker wasn't the right one either."

"So it seems." Ashes fell from the tip of his cigarette as Gin spoke, his teeth clenched around the filter. The next second he pulled the cigarette from his mouth and dropped it on the asphalt, crushing it beneath his shoe. The caw of a crow above them echoed in the sudden stillness. The silence grew and bubbled, the frustration exuded from the silver haired man almost palpable in the narrow space.

"Aniki…."

"This fox is crafty…." Gin gave a wry laugh, tilting his head so his hair fell away from his face. A virulent glint appeared in his eyes beneath the lone streetlamp and sparse stars. "It requires a different approach."

0

Conan stood on one leg, kicking a soccer ball as he listened to Agasa tinkering in the next room. Things seemed to have stagnated since finding out that Amuro was Bourbon and pulling off a fake-death scenario with Kaito Kid's help that lowered the danger Haibara faced at recognition. Since Vermouth, who was the only Black Org member who knew Haibara was Sherry, didn't seem keen on telling the rest of the members the truth Conan was sure Haibara was safe - at least temporarily.

It was only a tentative security though, the moment Vermouth divulged the information or someone else found out, he and Haibara would both be in danger. And the embers of that danger would further burn those closest to them. Conan sighed and caught the soccer ball, the next moment staring absently at the steaming cup of tea resting on the table. The billows of steam disappeared as each floated up, and the sound of Agasa tinkering with his new invention relapsed into a brief silence before starting up anew.

'If I knew why Amuro is still working at Poirot's…..I have a suspicion, but….' He placed the soccer ball on the floor beside the couch and took out his cell phone; he stared at its locked screen and swallowed. 'If that suspicion is right, then things are getting more dangerous….There are still things about Sera that I need to find out as well. Though she doesn't seem like a threat….'

The sudden beep of his phone's ringtone startled him slightly and drew him from his thoughts, he glanced at the number on his display before answering. "Moshi-moshi."

"Hello, Cool Kid, you're doing well, ne?" Jodie greeted him, her tone upbeat though he knew she would only call if there was something important.

"Did you get the information….?" He began, only to be cut off by the blonde FBI agent.

"No, not yet. I have an idea of who to ask, but that isn't why I called." Jodie paused. "I received a call from Kir. It seems that someone tried to hack into the Black Organization's database. From the stir it's caused, I think the hacker managed to breach a good portion of their security."

"It's been hacked? But isn't that impossible?" Conan's eyes widened then narrowed, his heart thumping in his chest.

"Yes, I thought so too. Even the best FBI hackers couldn't penetrate beyond the primary defenses. I'd say it was a hoax, if not for the fact that three known hackers have disappeared since four days ago."

"This…this…." Conan gritted his teeth, his eyes hidden behind his glasses. "Whoever this hacker is, he's in danger…."

"The FBI is already on top of it, only we must do it discreetly….so far information about the hacker is only known to a select few members of the Organization. If we aren't careful they may discover there is a spy leaking information to the FBI, and if they do, Kir will probably be one of the first they suspect."

Conan swallowed, he understood the need for precaution but if the Organization was going after any hacker they suspected responsible for the breach….he couldn't endure doing nothing while the Organization killed innocent people on their hunt for the hacker. "Jodie, I….do you have any information about the hacker?"

"Actually…" He heard Jodie pause, and the slight ruffle of paper. "The way the hacker managed to breach the Organization's firewall was amazing….the hacker managed to use the Night Baron virus that protects the Organization's mainframe itself to slip through the firewall."

"But….isn't that computer virus one that no one knows how to control? I…." Conan paused, thinking back to the floppy disk that had contained info on the Organization members. That time the Night Baron virus had destroyed all the data. _'The Organization seems to know how to use the Night Baron as a trap at least, but I don't think anyone else….'_

"That is why I think the Organization is keeping the breach a secret known by only a few members….it might have been instigated by someone with intimate knowledge of the Organization. Someone on the inside who knew how to use the Night Baron virus…." Jodie paused and ruffled through some more papers. "It has been kept a secret from the public, but there's suspicion in the FBI that the Night Baron computer virus was created by a member of the Black Organization. Which increases the likelihood that this breach was an inside job."

"That….if someone inside the Organization is responsible, then it's possible this person will work against them. If you find this person, then all the Organization's electronically stored data…." Conan sucked in a breath, the next second clenching his fist. If they found the hacker and if the hacker was willing to work against the Organization then the end would be closer than ever. However, as long as only a few inside the Organization knew about the breach, any action by the FBI to find the hacker would inadvertently reveal Kir as a spy. "It…Kir will…."

"Yes. It frustrates me too, but to risk Kir's safety for a gamble….this hacker might refuse to work with the FBI even if we found him. Also, the fact that three hackers have disappeared over the past four days and none had a connection to the Organization that we know of, worries me. If it was an inside job, why go after those hackers? To put the real hacker off guard?"

"….That is something that doesn't make sense. Someone on the inside would be able to see through something like that…." Lines creased Conan's forehead as he thought, his deductions hindered by lack of sufficient clues. He needed more data before he could figure out a plan.

"Oh, that's right!" Jodie exclaimed while Conan was in deep thought, her voice drawing the young detective from his ponderings. "Kir mentioned the hacker left a message behind after the breach. She managed to see it and told it to me. I'll send it to you in an email, perhaps you'll figure out what it means."

0

**Hide Tame (96flock)4 Fortunato Rache**

Her narrowed eyes behind shadow darkened hair traced each letter of the text, and her thin lips twisted into a frown as two strands of hair fell over her eyes. An impatient hand pushed the strands behind her ear. The moon hid behind a cloud as black gloved fingers closed out of the message, the cell snapped shut and placed in the right hand pocket.

The wind stilled, and in the silence the hundreds of unnoticed sounds came whizzing onto her eardrums. The street-lamp flickered above her, burning out and leaving just her silhouette visible to any passerby.

"Come on out my precious crows, come out and play..."

Chapter End

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A/N: The end of chapter 1 of the Revised version of Murder Broods.

I plan on leaving the original version of the fic posted until I catch up to where I left off on the original (and maybe longer since I don't want to lose its reviews by deleting it). There is much that will be different than the original (namely including Sera and Amuro), and I'm not sure if I'll bring Kaito Kid into the story, but my OC's from the original version will be included.


	2. Chapter 2

Murder Broods (Revised)

Chapter Two:

Above the streetlamps a solitary crow glided toward a windowsill and pecked at the glass of the window. It opened, and the winged creature hopped into the room and flew to a stand holding a dish of water and another of dead insects. The crow ate quietly, a ring blinking around its left leg. The glow of a computer screen highlighted its black feathers.

"...Fortunato." The office chair in front of the computer turned and slid toward the crow. In it a shadowed figure smiled at the avian, her cherry blonde hair cropped just before her shoulders. Her glasses made her eyes difficult to see in midst of the glow from the monitor and her smile seemed icy as she gingerly stroked the bird's beak.

"For how much you despise those crows, you certainly love Fortunato." Another figure approached from near the window after shutting it to prevent the night breeze from chilling the room. "Though how you feel isn't much of a surprise, considering..."

The woman's sharp glare cut through the man's sentence, and despite the gaze being filtered behind a pair of glasses, he felt the chill of ice racing down his spine.

"...if what we've discovered is true, then..." The woman glared at the computer, the screen reflecting off her glasses. "I will not forgive..."

0

Conan sat on the couch and yawned, the clock blinking 8 am. It was a Saturday, and he didn't have any plans until the afternoon, making it the perfect time to try to decipher the code.

_'Hide Tame (96flock)4 Fortunato Rache...'_ He read the text again, then reclined on the couch. _'Fortunato refers to The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe, and Rache...'_

Behind him the television buzzed as the channel was changed, and he heard Mouri-ojisan grumbling. Apparently News about an explosion caused by a gas leak had taken over the time slot planned for a Yoko Okino music broadcast.

_'You need to grow up, ojisan.' _Conan sighed in his thoughts. Then sighed again as his own thought reminded him of his predicament. _'...I can't wait until I can become Shinichi Kudo again, and can trounce the Black Org. Haa...'_ After another sigh he returned to the code. _'….this 'Rache' is probably from A Study in Scarlet: but is it intended to mean 'Rachel' or Rach__é__ the German word for revenge?'_

After considering it a moment while staring at the ceiling, his eyes narrowed.

_'In this case, with the word Fortunato appearing before it, it probably is meant to be revenge...since The Cask of Amontillado is about revenge. Perfect revenge.'_ He paused in his thoughts, listening to the News playing in the background. Curious, he glanced toward the television, just in time to hear the Newscaster bringing on update on the explosion.

-"...a recent development suggesting yesterday's explosion at a small house just outside of Haido city wasn't an accident has police digging deeper into the matter..." -

_'That's...wait, Haido...'_ Conan looked back at the text. _'Could the word Hide at the beginning of the code mean Haido? Since 'haido' is the Japanese pronunciation for the English word hide...that means that Tame could be referring to the Teimizu river. That's...' _

"Oh Conan, what are you doing just lying around staring at your phone?" Ran asked as she entered the room. "Oh! Are you waiting for a text from someone? A girl perhaps?" She smiled and peered down at Conan.

"Nnnn...No." Conan replied, blushing at how close Ran leaned in toward him, her face mere inches from his. All thoughts of deducing the code flew from his brain as her scent washed over him. That and the memory of his love confession in London. _'Damn, why can't Haibara just give me more of those pills so I can turn back into Shinichi? I'm tired of being Conan!'_

0

Vermouth stood beside a table in a darkened room lit only by the glow of florescent lights peeking in from the edges of the door. Across the room a small muted television flashed, playing the News on its screen. Vermouth watched the man across the room with a small smile on her lips.

"Quite a bold move by our hacker, wouldn't you say, Gin?"

"Too bold." Gin left the window, his eyes glaring at the television monitor. The intensity of his eyes was brief but palpable when the image of the house involved in the explosion flashed across the screen. His lips twisted before he hardened his expression and faced Vermouth. "This fox will regret his challenge. I'll see to it personally."

"Oh? Do you suppose that the hacker is after you? After all, that house was..."

Gin's glare silenced Vermouth without him having to say a word, and his silence continued as he walked passed Vermouth, toward the door. His eyes shadowed by his hair, he paused then left the room.

0

Amuro read over his text on his cell, his lips pursed grimly together though he couldn't hold back all of his exuberance as he finished deciphering the code left by the hacker.

_'The words Fortunato and Rache mean the hacker is seeking revenge, while the words hide and tame refer to Haido and Teimizu...implying that this revenge will be done somewhere in around Haido or even Beika city. The number 96 – read as kuro – together with flock, implies a group of crows which is called a murder in English, and the parenthesizes and the number 4 means to multiply 'murder' by 4. So, for revenge, there will be four murders in the Haido, and possibly Beika, area.'_

Amuro pressed the send button on his text, then pocketed his cell phone.

_'...The only question is whom does this person want to kill in his revenge...'_

Chapter End

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A/N: I hope you like this chapter of the revised version of Murder Broods.

On another topic: Has anyone else realized how horrifying Shinichi Kudo's dub name is? Especially for someone who is supposed to be like a Modern-day Sherlock Holmes? Who on earth thought the name Jimmy was acceptable?! Jimmy is a shortening of Jim, which is in turn a shortening of James! WHO ON EARTH decided that naming Shinichi Kudo after MORIARITY in the DUB was a GOOD idea?!


End file.
